PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Trading Down 0.3% Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) dropped 0.3% on Thursday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on the stock from $184.00 to $178.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a buy rating on the stock. PepsiCo traded as low as $146.61 and last traded at $147.60. Approximately 1,088,587 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 6,611,371 shares. The stock had previously closed at $148.09.

PEP has been the topic of several other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $183.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $171.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $178.20.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 5.6% in the second quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 49,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,220,000 after purchasing an additional 2,651 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter valued at about $223,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,130,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $846,030,000 after acquiring an additional 57,322 shares during the period. Elgethun Capital Management lifted its position in PepsiCo by 0.9% during the second quarter. Elgethun Capital Management now owns 6,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,151,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the second quarter valued at approximately $537,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $154.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $165.52. The company has a market cap of $203.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 79.94%.

PepsiCo Company Profile

PepsiCo, Inc engages in the manufacture, marketing, distribution, and sale of various beverages and convenient foods worldwide. The company operates through seven segments: Frito-Lay North America; Quaker Foods North America; PepsiCo Beverages North America; Latin America; Europe; Africa, Middle East and South Asia; and Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand and China Region.